If You Were Mine
by elmjuniper
Summary: Ashley Williams was the last person in the galaxy Shepard wanted to be stuck on a hostile planet with, but when the two of them are thrust into a mission gone horribly wrong they have to rely on each other to find a way back to the Normandy and in doing so they have to face their feelings for each other once and for all.
1. Whatever We Used To Be

**DISCLAIMER:** Mass Effect and everything you recognize from its universe belongs to BioWare. Everything else is my vivid imagination's work.

**AN:** This is a side project from my other two main stories: Losing What We Never Had and Just To See You Again. Figured I'd write this to exercise my imagination a little to help finish my main stories. Hope you enjoy. Please R&R!

~Elmjuniper

* * *

**WHATEVER WE USED TO BE**

"PERMISSION DENIED, WILLIAMS," THE COMMANDER lifted her hands before Ashley had a chance to protest. "Hear me out, Ash. You need to lead. What happened back there with Udina proves it. You need to command your own squad. I've seen you in action and you're a damn fine soldier and with Hackett's resources there are so many good things you accomplish."

Ashley let out a frustrated scoff. "With all due respect, ma'am I think it's bullshit I get railroaded out of here. Back there didn't prove anything but the fact that I was almost manipulated by a lying and maybe indoctrinated politician _and _I waved a gun at my commanding officer!"

Haze smiled. "All the more reason you should have your own team."

If she was the typical girl she would have cried with anger, maybe even stomped her foot in frustration. But being Ashley Williams she had to settle for shaking her head AND controlling the urge to beat some sense in to her now _former_ commander.

"Ok," she said resolutely not meeting Haze's eyes before pushing past her. "Good luck out there." It didn't sound as genuine as she had meant it, but she doubted the commander would even care. What had she expected anyway? She had questioned the commander from the very moment she saw her again. How could she not question Haze? Haze had worked with _and _been revived by Cerberus. How could she know Haze was really herself? How could she know that Haze was still the woman she had fallen in love with? Not that it actually mattered anymore. She groaned in frustration as she let her feet steer her towards the Purgatory. _I can't believe she didn't want me back on the Normandy!_

The Purgatory was, as always, filled with club goers full of expectations. Ashley snorted to herself as she looked around the bar area. How could these people be so calm and waste their precious time in here when the galaxy stood at the brink of destruction?

She stared into the glass of quarian liquor. A purple swirl twisted its way from the bottom of the glass to the surface, breaking and rippling it inaudibly. Ten minutes in Shepard's presence and she already felt drawn back in. She thought she had moved on. She shook her head ruefully. No, she knew she hadn't moved on, she just tried to tell herself that she had. Haze had died. She had seen her die, strapped into to the seat of their safety pod. There had been nothing she could do, but to watch the commander shoot out from the explosion like a ragdoll. She could still remember seeing Haze grab at the back of her suit in shock moments before her death. Haze had _died_. Right in front of her eyes. She had hid her face in her hands and cried for the first time since she was a young girl.

The coming months had been torture. It had seemed like a cruel joke. To find someone you _loved_ just to have that ripped away from you moments later. It had broken her heart. A heart she had thought she didn't really have. Before Haze there hadn't really been time for matters of the heart. She had worked so hard to earn her rank in the Alliance. But then the great Commander Shepard had stumbled into her life and for a while it seemed that they had it all. The friendship, the intimacy and the trust.

She trusted Haze with anything and everything. Haze was the one who had made her see that she didn't have to kill herself to prove she wasn't like her grandfather. To prove she had earned the right to be called gunnery-chief. People in the Alliance had always expected her to do a runner -do a Williams- and she had had to work hard to prove her own worth, at times at the cost of her own integrity.

She knew she was quick-tempered and at times aggressive, but Haze seemed to have a good influence on that side of her. Granted she still flared up easily and her bluntness hadn't worn off, but with Haze it hadn't mattered. With Haze she could be the girl that threatened to knock your lights out should you do her wrong and in truth that was the only kind of girl Ashley knew how to be. Haze had taught her that she could still prove herself and stand up for what she believed in –even if that was some strange guy in the sky. That thought had helped her through the first year. She had prayed every night before bed, her faith strengthened and renewed and whenever she felt like the emptiness the commander had left was too much to bear so would take comfort in the words of Tennyson.

Then Haze had returned from the dead. She hadn't believed it when she first read the reports. It couldn't be. Haze was dead and gone and she had been so for two years. If Haze was back she would have contacted her. It felt like a slap in the face when she walked up to the Alliance defense system on Horizon to see Haze standing there with the Cerberus informant and a heavily tattooed woman. She felt angry and betrayed. Why hadn't the commander contacted her? Did she mean so little to Haze that she couldn't even be bothered to explain things to her? Explain why she was with a terrorist group like Cerberus. As always Ashley's temper had got the better of her and they had parted on worse than bad terms and when she had finally calmed down and realized things were a lot more complicated it had been too late. Two years was a long time and they were both different now.

She had just gotten back on her feet and started seeing Gavin at the time. Granted Gavin wasn't exactly someone she could see herself spend a lifetime with, but he was a good man, a nice military man that reminded her of her father. He was good enough to settle for besides later on she found out that Haze had moved on as well. She scoffed at the thought of the Cerberus woman she had seen on Horizon –Miranda Lawson. The way Ms. Lawson held herself emitted an almost arrogant pride. Despite not being much taller than herself Miranda's head held high and icy glare made it appear as if she looked down at her from where she stood dressed in the black skin-tight jump suit. Clearly whatever they had been once didn't matter to either of them anymore. She raised her glass in a silent toast, downing its content.

"Ugh!" The bitter liquor burned in her mouth and she shook her head. "Disgusting..." She muttered though grateful for the warm, fuzzy effect it had on her stomach. A few more of these and she could stop thinking of Haze, missed opportunities and things that would never happen anyway.

"Rough day?"

She motioned at the barkeep to refill her glass before she turned around. "Liara?"

The asari gave her a curt nod, settling down next to her. "Thought I might find you here."

"Are you implying bars are the only places I hang out at?" She frowned at Liara.

"No, but you never were one to turn down a drink when trouble knocks on the door," Liara said as she turned to face her, glass in her hand.

"I suppose not..." Was she really _that _predictable?

"Moping, Ash? Really? Don't seem like the Ash I once knew."

"What are you talking about?" She raised her glass, but before she could empty it the asari's nimble hand cover it forcing her to lower it.

"Ashley, do you remember when we first met?" Liara asked, a coy smile playing on her lips.

"You mean back when I was kind of a bitch to you and threatened to beat you up?"

Liara chuckled, nodding her head as if reminiscing those days. "Exactly. Do you remember why?"

Ashley made a wry face. She remembered exactly why. "Because I thought Haze was interested in you."

"So why haven't you chased down and beat up Ms. Lawson yet?"

She let out a snort in disbelief. "Miss Swimsuit Contest? She's not worth my-"

"Ah, Chief Williams is scared again."

"Eh, _lieutenant_," she corrected the asari. "And I'm _not_! It's just, we don't, I...Haze..." She fell silent with a sigh unable to think up a good argument.

"You know," Liara smiled. "When we charged the Citadel to take down Saren, you just threw yourself out of that horrible mako –goddess forbid Haze ever gets her hands on another one- no questions asked. If anything _that _should be scary."

"That's different," she protested. "I understand the battle. I know how to drill an enemy between the eyes from a hundred meters away, that's what I've trained for."

"But this has no rules, no manuals and you don't know how to navigate this with your gut. So you run."

"Yeah, well, what do you know?" she muttered staring down at her glass.

"I know that given your chance I wouldn't run from it."

Ashley lifted her face. There was something about the asari's expression, the melancholy in her eyes that used to be filled with such wonder all the time. _What happened to you? _The innocence was gone, evaporated like a drop of water in the dessert. Despite that something in Liara's voice sounded different from that hardened broker she had become. Did she still have feelings for Haze?

"These might interest you." Liara slid the thin data chip over to where her hand rested on the bar disk.

"What is that?"

"You can thank me later, Ash." Liara said, getting up from the bar stool turning to leave. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

"You're a spectre now, Williams. You can do things no ordinary soldier can do. Say, disobey a commander's order." She raised her glass, giving her a nod before downing the liquor then she disappeared into the crowded dance floor and was gone as suddenly as she had appeared.

~·~

"What the hell are you doing here? Did I not explain my reasons for denying you permission to board the Normandy?"

"You did. Very well and I agree," the brunette said standing a little straighter.

"Then why are you back?" Haze asked sounding more curious than annoyed. She gritted her teeth hoping the lieutenant didn't pick up on that.

"With all due respect ma'am; I'm here to keep your ass alive. We lose you we lose everything. So I _will _board the Normandy." There was a pause before Ashley opened her mouth to speak again. "Spectre authority."

She grinned inwardly. When they first had met Ashley had indeed held her own, but she had still been insecure and uncertain that she deserved the title of gunnery-chief. The woman standing before her did not even blink. _You've come a long way, Ash. Damn it... _"You make a fair argument." She sighed in defeat. "Find yourself a bunker and get ready to ship out."

The lieutenant tried –and failed miserably- to hide the smile creeping on to her plump lips.

"But, Williams. Remember, you're under my command once you're aboard. That means you _will _follow orders."

"So long as it's not to leave the Normandy for good." Ashley didn't flinch.

She gave the lieutenant a curt nod before she turned to walk back on to the bridge. Hesitating she pulled to a stop, turning around. "And, Ash?"

"Yes?"

"It's good to have you back."

"It's good to be back,"

She turned her back to Ashley trying to look as if she wasn't affected by the lieutenant's presence. Truth be told it bothered her more than she would like to admit.

They had met when she served as Anderson's XO on the first Normandy. Haze shook her head as she walked up to her private terminal. How long ago was it? Two years? No, three, perhaps four? Ashley had been everything she disliked in a person; a narrow minded, poet-spewing bible thumper with a feisty short temper. They had butted heads more than once during their first year working together. Until Haze had realized that behind the poetry and firm belief in some spirit in the sky stood a woman who was still trying to find her place in this vast galaxy. And suddenly she started to admire the soldier for keeping her faith in God during times like these when it was so easy to turn to science to explain and sometimes defend one's decisions. Ashley followed a code, a sense of fresh morality Haze hadn't seen in many of her other comrades.

Haze looked out across the CIC from where she stood. Parts of her still found it ridiculous that this beauty for a ship was hers. Growing up in the slums of Hackney Downs hardly let you imagine these things. It left most children and adults without dreams. On the streets you didn't have time to dream if you wanted to survive. If you weren't crawling the old subway system –or the Maze as the rats called them- then you weren't doing it right. The Maze was just like it sounded, a large maze of tunnels that run underneath the city, treasures hidden all over the old subway system and there were buyers for most scrap you could find in the abandoned tunnels.

When you grew up in the streets you learned two things. Stay alive and always have your own back. Needless to say it made the rats selfish. No one else was going to save you but yourself. There was no in-between, no grey areas. There were only black and white, death or life, starve or eat, kill or get killed. She did whatever it took to get the job done because that was the only way she knew how to do it. Survival at all costs. And that's why people called her the Butcher of Torfan.

Haze lowered her gaze. At the time it seemed the sensible thing to do. Kill them _all_. She had burned with lust for vengeance and with such passionate hatred for the batarians after the Blitz that there would only ever be one outcome in that battle. Not one batarian would come out alive from Torfan. She had sacrificed countless of Alliance soldiers to wipe out every single batarian. Mercenaries, women, children, none must live. _It was necessary_. The means justified the ends. If they hadn't showed the rest of the galaxy what they were capable of raids like the Blitz would keep affecting the smaller colonies. A few lives for the many. It made sense, at least at the time.

Anderson had once said it would be the one thing to stand in her way of immortality. He had always said how she was meant for something great, but no one would follow a bully or tyrant no matter how much they threatened or cajoled. At the time she hadn't understood what he meant, but where she stood she wondered if he had some weird sixth sense.

Ashley had taught her to see the grey in-between. The soldier who had so openly resented and mistrusted the aliens had changed during their time on the Normandy. She no longer scowled at the aliens aboard and Ashley had even admitted to liking the Krogan who had earned her respect in battle. Seeing the change in the other woman made Haze believe that perhaps there was redemption for her as well. Maybe she could change, be a better person. And so admiration and friendship had eventually turned into something else. Something completely new. There had been other girls, but none she ever came to care about. It was too difficult to open up to a stranger, but with Ashley it felt just as natural to her as the feel of the Carnifex's slick grip in her hand during battle. Perhaps because the brass had been just as important to Ash as it had been for Haze. They knew the commitment it craved and the discipline it took to come out alive and fairly uninjured from the battlefield.

Haze sighed. It was typical, wasn't it? Falling for the one girl she could never have. The religious by-the-book girl, but much to her surprise Ashley had felt the same. It was all new for both of them. For her because she had never let anyone close enough and for Ash because she had never been in love with a woman. Baby steps, they had agreed to which had meant stolen moments spent in Haze's cabin whenever work didn't take up their time. One of those stolen moments was that night before Ilos. Haze pushed the memory away. Ashley had found her match in someone else anyway.

Gavin Crossdale. Oh, yes, the perfect solider. Head of Alliance terminus surveillance team with a clean record and a highly regarded family within the Alliance. If there was ever talk about pure bloods in the military there would be a picture of him next to the definition. He was as perfect as it could get. He didn't shoot batarians between the eyes just for having a bad day and he didn't threaten people to get information out of them and most importantly he wasn't a she.

She felt a light touch on her shoulder and turned around to see her comm specialist look at her.

"Are you alright, Commander?"

"Yes, specialist. What is it you want?" She snapped irritably.

The specialist fidgeted under her glare and she took a deep breath before speaking again. "I'm sorry, I was caught up in some work. Can we start this conversation again?" There was no need to take her feelings out on the specialist. Samantha was ambitious and clever, Haze needed her to perform at her best, making her jumpy and nervous with her usual stern personality wouldn't help them.

"Hello, specialist, how can I help?"

Samantha smiled a subtle blush working its way across her cheeks. "I was actually going to ask you that question, Commander. It seems things got a bit intense back on the Citadel."

"That obvious, huh?" Haze snorted.

"Kind of." Samantha smiled relaxing a bit. "Don't worry though, I won't tell anyone the great Commander Shepard has bad days."

Haze chuckled. "I appreciate that, Traynor."

"Well, if you have any downtime tonight there's this bar on our ship and some of us have a few hours to spare. If you want to you could..." Samantha hesitated before continuing. "Join us."

Haze narrowed her eyes. Join them. That didn't sound like an awful idea. She missed the evenings she had spent with Miranda and the rest of the crew she worked with a few months earlier. She chortled mentally. Miranda had helped her relax alright and the rest of the crew had become the closest thing she had ever had to a family.

"Ok, why the hell not," she said. "We've got a day before we get to Sanctum anyway."

"Ok, perfect. Maybe I won't have to spend the night getting beaten by EDI in chess then," Traynor said.

"You play chess?" She hadn't expected this. Samantha seemed like a fun person, chess wasn't usually what Haze associated with fun.

"I play a lot of strategy games, but I prefer chess. It's something about the feel of something solid in your hands."

"That's kind of old school, Traynor."

"Well, everything wasn't meant to be GUI interfaced, Commander. Believe it or not." The specialist laughed.

"I'll be sure to remind you of that when your keyboard suddenly breaks down and you're stuck with those old solid ones," Haze teased. "So I take it EDI is impossible to beat?"

"Only because she can calculate the smartest move in a matter of seconds."

"I can, but I do not. I try to give you a fair chance, Specialist," EDI stated above their heads.

"She doesn't even sweat," Traynor muttered looking slightly disappointed.

"You _sweat _when you play chess?" Haze asked frowning.

"It depends on how much fun I'm having." A sly smile played on the specialist's lips.

" Well, when you put it that way we might have to try a game."

"I'll be sure to pencil you in for a later date," the specialist said eyes locking with Haze's.

Haze watched Samantha return to her station before she shook her head. "Come on, Haze. Don't even go there," she muttered as she headed for the elevator. She should pick up her Carnifex from Garrus to check the new calibrations he had done for her.

She scratched the nape of her neck where she stood waiting for the elevator. A beer or two with the rest of the crew didn't sound like a bad idea. What was the worst that could happen?

~·~

"Hey, Skipper." The brunette soldier called out as she walked towards Haze with determined steps, a sultry smile on her lips.

"Ash...Are we a little tipsy?" She asked, quirking her eyebrow in amusement.

"What if I am?" Ashley asked in defiance pulling to a stop in front of her where she stood in the corner of the Starboard lounge.

Haze chuckled at the intoxicated lieutenant commander. Ashley reminded her of a small town's drunken spinster. Her chuckle caught in her throat when two hands snaked around her neck, burying themselves in her hair as Ashley pressed herself close.

"Uh...Ash?"

"Don't act all coy with me, Skipper. I see the way you look at me," Ashley purred as she backed Haze up against the solid wall of the Normandy.

"I don't...Look..."

"No, Commander?" Ashley raised an eyebrow her lips curling into a mischievous smile. She leaned in closer her lips brushing against Haze's check as she purred into her ear. "Then how come you haven't shot me down with your powerful biotics yet? And...Care to explain what your hands are doing on my hips?"

"Huh?" Looking down she realized her hands were grabbing Ashley's hips, keeping her firmly in place. The brunette let out a lustful chortle her hot breath caressing the exposed skin on Haze's neck. She felt a pleasurable tingle creep up her spine and she groaned inwardly at the situation she found herself in. Ashley Williams was quite literally throwing herself at her. The same woman who had accused her of working for the enemy on Horizon, telling Haze she had betrayed her.

"Williams, I think you should probably drink some water and head back to our quarters."

"Are you sure that's what you really want?"

_No! I really, really want to grab you by the hair and lick my way down your-_

Silky, moist lips pressed themselves against hers, eagerly nipping at her lips. She broke off the kiss dazed from alcohol and arousal laughing nervously.

"Ok. I'm going to take you back to your quarters now."

"Mmm, yes, ma'am," Ashley murmured salaciously, brown eyes sparkling.

"No. Not like that," she gritted through her teeth as she slid her arm around the lieutenant's waist steering her across the walkway towards her quarters. Ashley sighed leaning her head against her shoulder.

"Wow, the floor is _really_ spinning."

Haze chuckled. "I'm not surprised."

"This is my room, Commander," Ashley said matter-of-factly as she blinked in what seemed to be an attempt to focus her eyes.

"That's very perceptive of you. No wonder they made you the second human spectre." Haze grinned back at her. Ashley snorted loudly, swaying where she stood.

"Get changed and go to bed. I will check on you in the morn- no! What are you-?" Haze sighed as she looked at the woman sprawled out on the floor.

"You said 'go to bed'," Ashley murmured where she lay.

"So why are you on the floor?"

"I am?" The lieutenant lifted her head looking bewildered. "Oh..."

"Come here." Haze helped the drunken soldier up walking her over to the bed. "Let's get you out of that jacket and the boots."

"Boots are stuck. Stuck to pants..."

_Of course they are_. "Well, can you do it yourself?"

Ashley huffed indignantly. "Of course I can. I'm a big girl, Skipper."

She watched in amusement how Ashley struggled with her jacket, pulling at the arms helplessly. Shaking her head she reached out with her hands and unzipped the jacket. She ignored the sight of silky skin and smooth ridges of Ashley's collarbones. Pulling it off softly she folded it neatly before placing it on the leather sofa behind her.

"Boots."

She swallowed her throat feeling dry. "Sure." She peeled off the trousers that wrapped themselves like a second layer of skin around Ashley's well-toned legs. Ashley's skin seemed to burn like fire underneath her fingertips and she cleared her dry throat, keeping her eyes on the boots the whole time. She motioned for the lieutenant to sit down on the bed as she pulled them off.

"There, all done," she said moving to stand up when Ashley's hands placed themselves on her cheeks, cupping her face gently.

"Undressed by the great commander Shepard."

"Ash..." She place her hands on Ashley's wrists. "I understand that there are a lot of things going and that, you know, we could all die tomorrow and all that, but...I don't want to be the comfort for the moment. I don't want to be just another pair of strong arms."

"Another pair of strong arms? If I wanted that I'd go for the hulk in our cargo bay."

She tried not to wince at the words. The thought that Ashley would be interested in Vega, alpha male of the alpha males, stung more than what she would have liked for it to.

"You're with lieutenant Crossdale. This isn't like you."

"We had something once. Something real."

"No, we had few months, we barely know each other. We had fun, then things turned a little bad when I died."

The lieutenant seemed to sober up at this.

"That was a lifetime back though –quite literally- and it's all good. We're friends now. That's fine." She almost believed herself where she squatted staring into those brown orbs. "Now go to sleep. That's an order."

Ashley snorted, but fell back on to the bed nonetheless. She opened her mouth to speak, but Haze cut her off.

"I mean it, LT. Joker will be singing the morning song at seven-hundred hours sharp."

"I'll give you anything for you not to let him."

"Four-thousand credits? I need to upgrade my omni-tool."

"You're a damn space pirate," Ashley groaned in dismay.

"I could just wake you up by throwing you into a cold shower."

"I hate you."

"I hate you..?"

"Ma'am."

Haze chuckled turning to leave. "See you in the morning, Williams."

~·~

Coffee, she needed coffee. This day had been too long and too absurd. Coffee and some well-earned rest. Rounding the corner she saw a familiar figure standing by the coffee machine.

"Traynor?"

The specialist turned around looking surprised. "Oh, Commander. I thought you had gone with...err...Lieutenant Williams."

"Well someone needed to help her get to bed," she shrugged as she leant over to grab a mug.

"I suppose she wasn't really at her best," Samantha agreed before asking casually. "So, is the night still young or is the Commander going to bed?"

Haze quirked an eyebrow at the question. "Why, you want to join me?"

"W-what? No! I mean, I, I that's not what I meant. I only asked because-"

"Relax, Traynor. I was joking." She lifted the mug to her lips hiding her grin.

"You are terrible, Commander. I was wondering if you were perhaps interested in a game of chess? I bought this new GUI interfaced board on the Citadel and was thinking we could break it in."

"Are you going to sweat?"

"Only if you make me."

"Ok, Traynor. You're on, but I warn you I never play fair."

"But do you play nicely?"

"It happens."

"I think I will take my chances, Commander."

"Very well, then my cabin it is."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. The Price We Pay

**AN: **Hey everyone! Thank you all so much for the reviews, I really appreciate them. If I haven't replied with a DM I'm sorry, I've been a little sidetracked with making femshepley gifs for my tumblr. Yes, my new guilty pleasure. Hope this update didn't take _too_ long. ;) Enjoy!

~Elmjuniper

* * *

**THE PRICE WE PAY**

"IF SHE MEANS SOMETHING TO you, I offer her my protection."

"Thank you, Thane," she said turning to leave.

He placed a hand on her arm gently. "Haze," he said locking eyes with her. "If she means something to you, this isn't the time to be holding grudges. Take it from the dying Drell."

"Thane, Ash and I, we're…" She fell silent not sure how to finish the sentence.

"Shepard, come here, let me show you something." The drell walked over to the panoramic windows overlooking parts of the Citadel. "Tell me, Commander. What do you see?"

"Uh…" She gave him a quizzical look.

"Just humour me, Shepard."

"I see streets, sky cars, water and people."

"Hm," he murmured where he stood, hands clasped solemnly behind his back.

"Yes?"

"Do you know what I see?" He asked looking over at her. She shook her head "no". "I see people trying to live, clinging on to hope. I see them fighting, worrying, forgetting -living." His odd drell voice creaked as he spoke. "Do you know what I see when I look at you speaking about this woman?"

"Fighting, worrying, and living..?" She tried to joke.

"Yes." He looked back through the large windows. "But I also see fear, Shepard."

Haze snorted. Would that be so odd? If the rest of the galaxy was allowed to be afraid would it be so strange for her to feel something similar? She knew she could not afford to be afraid so she tucked the feeling away like she had so many times before. As a commander and captain, that's what you did.

Thane turned to look at her. He looked tired. His eyes lacked the conviction they had once held and he moved slowly.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Thane?"

He nodded slowly. "Don't let your fear of losing her stop you from loving her."

"I-!" She protested.

"Commander," he interrupted her. His firm tone silenced her effectively. "It seems an odd thing that creatures like you and I possess the ability love." He turned his head, beady eyes observing her. "It is not odd -it is a blessing, Shepard. It is what separates us from the ones we are here to protect others from. It is a blessing you should accept."

O-O-O

Haze stared up through the window in her roof, watching planets and specks of dust whizz past as the Normandy sped through space. She could still remember the last conversation she had had with Thane. It felt odd that he was no longer with them. He had become part of her crew a few months earlier when she had used Cerberus to take down the collectors. Part of her crew, part of her family. Thane Krios, the drell and mysterious assassin had become a close friend before he had passed away. He was one of the few who understood her. Besides Garrus he was someone she could confide in. He understood the decisions she had to make in a way others couldn't.

She could still hear the last verse of the prayer he had asked Koliat to read for her. _Guide this one, Kalahira, and she will be a companion to you as she was to me. _The words burned in her mind and she felt something tug at her chest. They had saved the councillor, but the price had been too high and the void her friend had left still hurt too much to think about so she did what she did best and tucked it deep inside until it no longer threatened to make her eyes burn with angry, sad tears.

The specialist moved next to her underneath the sheets and Haze froze where she lay. _Right, so, chess…_ sometime she might learn not to follow her impulses when drinking. Apparently "sometime" was not tonight. She rubbed her forehead hoping this wouldn't…complicate things. In other words she hoped Traynor understood this had meant nothing. It was one night to blow off some steam, nothing else.

"You're awake," Samantha said drowsy, lifting her head.

"Yeah, just…thinking," she replied evasively. A hand placed itself on her stomach. God, that felt good. Almost as if the touch reassured Haze that she did exist, that this life wasn't some illusion or weird dream. A pair of lips pressed gently against her arm and she closed her eyes enjoying the feel of someone else next to her.

"Why don't you sleep a little?"

Concern. Genuine concern. Everything about the specialist was genuine. Haze let herself enjoy the moment, pretending for a few seconds that this was her reality; sharing a bed with someone who worried about her, who cared for her. She could have fooled herself. She shook her head, slipping out of bed.

"I've got work to do." She slipped back into her clothes.

"Oh, ok. I just thought-" the specialist started.

"You can stay if you want to." She might be cold, but she wasn't a total douche. "You know, if you want to use my shower again," she grinned.

Samantha threw a pillow at her. "Jerk. I will. I'm not going to say no to a proper shower. God knows when I get to use it again."

Haze quirked her eyebrow. Was the specialist fishing for another date? "Well, I might need to make sure you're in prime condition…"

Samantha crawled over to where Haze stood buttoning her shirt. Getting up on her knees Samantha grabbed her by the collar, kissing her. "I'll be sure to keep in perfect shape for then."

Haze chuckled before turning serious. "Just…would you mind…"

"Keeping it on the down-low?" Samantha filled in.

"Yeah, something like that."

"Look, I have no illusions about what this is, Shepard. We're having some fun. Let's just leave it at that. For now."

"I can live that."

"I hope so, I wouldn't want to be the reason the great Commander Shepard dies a _second_ time."

"Commander," EDI alerted them of her presence.

"EDI?"

"You have priority call from the council. Should I tell them you are busy?"

Haze grinned, thankful for the opportunity to slip away. "Patch them in over in the conference room."

O-O-O

"Ugh!" The headache hit her like a sledge hammer as she opened her eyes and looked around the room. Her clothes lay folded neatly on the sofa, the boots placed on the floor next to them.

"What the hell..?" She was still wearing her top and underwear, but judging by her headache she doubted her state last night would have allowed her to even think about folding her clothes. _I was at the bar with Garrus and Vega and that specialist girl and someone else… No, no… I left them at the bar to go somewhere. _She racked her brain trying to recollect last night's events. _Skipper! I went to talk to Skipper and then- _

"Oh, God." She hid her face in her hands as the last piece of the puzzle fell into place. She had kissed her commanding officer! Wasn't it enough that she had already waved a gun in Haze's face? Not only had the commander seen her in her drunken state, but Haze had rejected her -something perhaps even more mortifying than the former.

"No…" she whined loudly to herself. How could she be so stupid?! "I'm never ever drinking _ever _again," she groaned in humiliation.

"Lieutenant, you are up." EDI's voice boomed loudly above her head.

"EDI… Please, not so loud," she moaned clasping her head with her hands.

"The Captain said to give you five minutes before testing the fire alarm in your quarters."

"Ugh, Skipper you damn space pirate," she muttered. "Tell her I'll be ready in twenty. I just need a shower." _And some aspirins._

"Do you want me to request Shepard's presence in your shower?"

"EDI are you _trying _to be funny?!" Ashley sniped.

"I checked with Joker who agreed it was a fun joke," the AI replied matter-of-factly.

"Does _everybody _know?"

"I don't believe the majority of the galaxy knows."

"You _know _what I mean, EDI."

"I don't think operative Lawson knows. She might be… _Unhappy _if she did. If you want her to know I can send her recorded footage."

"No!" Ashley exclaimed impatiently. That AI was pushing her luck. "Tell anyone else and I'll show you the meaning of a knuckle sandwich!"

"Last time you tried that with this body it did not end well, Lieutenant."

"Yeah, thanks for reminding me, EDI," Ashley muttered. This day was going to be one of those days when she wished she had never gotten out of bed. She sighed and grabbed her things for the shower. Better face the humiliation sooner rather than later and have it be done with.

O-O-O

Ashley took a deep breath as she stepped out into the Normandy's CIC. Heads turned her way and she could see comm. Specialist Traynor stifle an amused laughter at the sight of her.

"Are you alright, Lieutenant? You look… uhm… how are you feeling?" Samantha asked genuinely.

"Like a shit storm is about to hit the fan," she grunted taking a sip from her coffee. This day couldn't be over soon enough. By the look on everyone's face gossip travelled almost as fast as the Normandy on this ship. Samantha gave her a small nod and returned to her station continuing with whatever it was she was doing there all day, every day. Ashley rounded the corner to the conference room, stepping through the security scan before proceeding on.

She could see the commander waiting by the stylish table her hands clasped behind her back. Haze wore the admiral's suit her look emitting confidence and authority. Ashley always liked how Haze carried herself when she wore her admiral's uniform. It made her look good, no, stunning. She frowned. The fact that Haze wore her admiral's uniform could mean one thing: she was in for a reprimand over last night's incident.

_Shit._

"Lieutenant Williams," the commander greeted her as she entered the room, back still turned towards her.

"Commander," she said quietly hanging her head in shame. She was going to have to find a way to apologise. "Commander, about last night."

The commander's hands released their grip of each other, her right hand flying into the air quickly silencing Ashley where she stood.

"Not now, Williams." The commander twisted her body and motioned towards the small hologram on the table. "The council wants us to travel to Lacerta Mihi in the Hourglass Nebula to retrieve an artefact that could help us against the reapers. Admiral Hackett has ordered us to comply."

"_We_, Commander?"

"As spectres the two of you can retrieve the data without any... political implications," councillor Tevos explained. "After Udina's attempted coup it is vital we secure the data in case Cerberus is aware of its existence."

"But we can bring a small team with us?" Ashley had an uneasy feeling about the way the councillor had said "the two of you".

"It is a situation far too delicate. We haven't had any contact with the population of the planet in decades and it is uncertain whether they know that the council have placed sensitive data on their planet or not. A small team might be seen as an act of war. The two of you must travel on your own."

"What is so important about the data? If I'm going to take time to go and retrieve it I need to know it will be worth it." Haze voice was stern as she spoke.

"It contains knowledge about countless of civilisations before ours," Tevos replied evasively. Ashley could see a scowl forming on the commander's face.

"_Before _ours?"

"I cannot say anymore on the matter," the asari said curtly, eyes dashing from one side to another as if to make sure no one else could hear their conversation, the other councillors squirming awkwardly where they stood in silence.

"_If_ I do this, will you give me your support?"

There was a brief pause, the councillors exchanging looks amongst themselves.

"Councillors..." Haze's voice took on that dangerous edge it had before ordering her crew into battle.

"Yes, Commander," the turian councillor agreed. They already had turian fleet's support, but his confirmation that the other councillors would throw in their support was too important for Haze to ignore. Ashley watched the commander. She would agree to this mission, the reward was too valuable not to.

"We've sent the nav point to your helmsman. Good luck, Commander." The hologram flickered before it died out leaving the room silent once more.

"Packs you bags, LT. Looks like it's just you and me for this one," Haze said as she turned to face her. An amused smile replaced the serious face she had worn only moments earlier.

"You're going to make me pay for last night, aren't you?"

"Last night?" The commander inquired as she walked past her, giving her a sly look across her shoulder as she exited the conference room. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, Williams."

_Oh yeah, she's going to make me suffer for this_.

O-O-O

The shuttle shook violently, the screens flickering furiously underneath her hands. She swiped at them, punching in every command sequences she knew, but before she had time to finish it there was a loud bang as sparks flew from the controls.

"Is that supposed to happen?!" Haze could hear the panic in the lieutenant's voice as they rocketed towards the planet's surface.

"Sure," she replied through clenched jaws as she ripped the metal plating open underneath the navigation controls.

"What are you doing?" Ashley shouted over the shrieking of alarms and warning signals.

She peered into the pocket in the hull. Wires ran in zig-zag, layer on top of layer. "I'm disabling computer navigation."

"Shepard!"

"Got to do this the old fashioned way, LT," she called across her shoulder, shoving her hand into the nest of wires. Her hand closed around them and she pulled hard. Sparks sizzled angrily around her closed fist before shooting off it with vengeance then the screens flickered and died.

"Switching to manual mode," the shuttle's system warned.

She darted out from where she was crouching and grabbed the yoke. "Alright, here we go," she murmured in concentration as the shuttle straightened itself up under her manoeuvring.

"Shepard, I can access the shuttles emergency system and ensure a safe landing," EDI said in her earpiece.

"Do it! We enter the planet's atmosphere in, three, two, o-"

A deafening bang shook the whole shuttle, throwing them out of their seats as it began to spin madly. The lieutenant crashed into her with a loud yelp. Haze grabbed her by the waist, holding her firm as she made her way to the shuttle door. They were slung backwards, bouncing like pebbles against the hard metal.

"Hold on!" She shouted across the chaos around them and she felt Ashley's arms wrap themselves hard around her waist. Something clicked and she realized the lieutenant had secured them together with the one of the safety belts. "Good thinking, LT! Now let's get to that door!"

Grabbing at the side bars of the shuttle as it plummeted towards the ground they slowly made their way across the shuttle towards the door and slid the lower part of it open securing it to the side.

"Now!" Ashley yelled and Haze launched them into the air. They tumbled through it, twisting and turning in the air that rushed past them. Lining them up against the wind Haze pulled at the pilot chute with her hand. The wind caught it and pulled at it, inflating it with a soft wheezing sound. She felt her stomach tickle as they fell through the sky and she grabbed the toggles of their chute. She let her eyes sweep across the planet. Green and blue. That meant a lot of vegetation and a lot of water. There were no colonies visible from this distance. Odd, didn't the councillors say this planet was populated?

A loud explosion caught her eyes and she saw the shuttle get swallowed by a cloud of dark smoke where it had crashed. _Great_. Using the toggles she navigated their way through the air until they were on top of it. She released them from the parachute and they dropped to the ground, their armour clanking loudly as they landed with a graceless roll on the sandy ground, arms and legs getting tangled up with each other. Ashley lay motionless on top of her and she lifted her head slightly touching the lieutenant's shoulder gently.

"Hey?"

Ashley groaned loudly in dismay. "This is by far the _worst _hangover I've ever had."

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	3. The Secrets We Hide

**AN: **Hey everyone, sorry this update took forever to get out (of course last night when I was ready to post it Fanfiction's website wasn't working properly). I got the 3D art bug and was so mesmerized by it I really didn't have time over to write. If you want to check it out you can find it on deviantart under the same username as here. I would wait a bit though because there are some spoilers to this story illustrated there. :P

To all of you who reviewed I am eternally thankful, you make my day. And with that said, thank you to the rest of you wonderful readers and reviewers!

Enjoy!

~Elmjuniper

* * *

**THE SECRETS WE HIDE**

"God damn it!" Haze banged her fist against the hull of the shuttle where it had crashed. Sparks flew from her fist as it connected with the metallic hull and Ashley could see the commander wince as a powerful electric shock shot through the length of her arm. Smoke drifted from its side and Haze waved her hand directing the stinging smoke away from her eyes as she tried to determine the damage the shuttle had taken.

"What the hell just happened?" Ashley asked as she walked up towards the commander.

"I don't know," Haze replied opening the top of the hull. It swung upwards with a pop revealing an inferno of melted wires and broken tubes. The commander moved the wires slowly to the side revealing a dark mass –the drive core- an unusually dark and lifeless drive core.

"The engine's completely fried!"

"Yeah, I noticed that," Haze muttered. "We should radio the Normandy." The commander continued, tapping at the top of her wrist guard. Her dark brows furrowed as she stared at the empty air above her arm. "My omni-tool isn't working."

"Neither is my pistol." Ashley smacked the base of her palm against it with a perplexed look on her face. Why wasn't her pistol working?

"It must be the eezo. Everything using element zero has been fried."

"How is that possible? Wouldn't that mean your implants should have been wiped as well?" She pointed demonstratively with one armour-clad finger towards her temple hoping Shepard would understand she was referring to her implants, not calling her crazy –even if the commander did have a horrible habit of getting them all into the direst of situations.

Haze lifted her hand into the air, fingers balled into a small fist. She let her fist fly open, palm upwards, fingers spread wide, blue, sparkling flames shooting into the air.

"If everything with eezo would be destroyed upon entering the atmosphere even my implants should have been fried as well. It seems more likely something is blocking the eezo. I've read about it at the academy. It's strong enough to block the eezo in regular machinery, but not so sufficient it can block eezo protected by organic tissue effectively. Seeing as Cerberus gave me the new improved L5:s I'm thinking whatever is knocking out all the eezo can't block them out."

"They fitted you with L5:s? Just like that?" Ashley asked in suspicion before she could stop herself.

"Sure did." Haze let her hand drop to her side, ignoring her blatant distrust for the organisation she had once allied with. "We need to find out what's jamming the shuttle's eezo and generators."

"Besides the fact that you ripped out all the wires?"

"Yeah. That." Haze scanned the area silently, hazel eyes moving meticulously from one side to the other, a wrinkle forming between her eyes.

She followed the commander's gaze making her own assessment of their surroundings. Whatever was causing them trouble couldn't be seen from where they had crashed. The vegetation looked similar to that of a planet with a breathable atmosphere. Her eyes followed the rim of the forest in front of them. It reminded her of the overgrown ruins of Ilos. Thick vines wound their way down towards the ground from the dense-growing tree tops and jagged cliffs rose towards the sky somewhere behind the forest. She frowned. It looked like a pleasant enough planet, but something about the jungle staring back at them and the red rocks made her feel uneasy.

Haze moved next to her and she turned her head to watch the commander as she bent forward picking something up from the ground. Craning her neck slightly she peeked over Haze's arm with curiosity. A shard of some sort rested in the commander's hand. It fit nicely in Haze's palm and when she held it up towards the sky they could see the sunrays cut through the matted surface.

"What is that?" She asked.

"I don't know. It looks like some sort of crystal," Haze answered, moving towards the edge where beach met jungle, kneeling by a small plant. The commander rubbed the leaf between her thumb and index finger before snapping it off its branch. She held the leaf up in front of her face, twisting and turning it as she studied it.

"Hm."

"What?"

Haze undid the clasps of her helmet pulling it off.

"Shepard!"

"Solus Maneis." Haze grinned holding up the leaf. "Grows on every planet with a breathable atmosphere."

"And you recognized it just like that?" Ashley asked incredulously, pulling her helmet off. She hadn't really thought the commander was the kind of person with an interest in flowers.

"Skipped out on biology class, Williams?"

"No, it just... it wasn't part of my training." She replied defensively.

"It rarely is. I didn't learn this at the academy."

"Oh?" If Haze hadn't learnt that trick at the academy where had she learnt it? She paused. She didn't know anything about Haze's life before the academy. Her files said she grew up on Earth, but before her arrival at the academy her files were almost empty. When she had suspected Haze was alive again she had dug up her old files trying to figure out where she could have gone to. For someone with Haze's experience it was unusually sparse. Not much was known about the commander's background. No family background, no place of birth, no previous schools or address of residence. Yet here she was, telling Ashley a small detail to add to the mysterious puzzle of who the commander was and where she had come from.

Haze tossed the leaf aside, stuffing the shard in her boot. "Let's just say there are a lot of things I Haven't learnt from the academy."

"What, you picked it up during a mission somewhere?"

"That's one way to see it," Haze muttered as she stood up from where she had been kneeling next to the plant. "Ok, Ash. We've got to do a quick sweep of the nearby area. If we don't find anything within a few clicks radius we'll have to consider setting a perimeter and set up camp."

"Sound like a good plan, boss." She pointed towards the jungle. "We crashed on an exposed area, but at least there's only one point of entry." Casting a quick glance behind her at the tempting, crystal blue sea she hesitated. "I think..."

"Exactly." Haze nodded towards the sea. "There are a lot of things about this planet that aren't what we had planned on."

oXoXo

Haze tossed her chest piece onto the floor of the shuttle, sweat dripping from her forehead. The lieutenant heaved hers off with a loud groan behind her and it clattered to the floor of the shuttle with a loud clanging noise.

"I can't believe our suits aren't working." Ashley wheezed.

Normally the mass effect fields generated the suit's temperature keeping it at the ultimate temperature when a person wore it. Much to their dismay their armour had been affected by whatever it was that was keeping the eezo from working like it should.

They had made it up to the cliffs that overlooked the shore and parts of the inland. To the west the jungle stretched for as far as their eyes could reach and their south and east was surrounded by water, the red mountains looming at their back like lifeless giants.

The jungle had been overgrown, the thick trunks of the exotic trees growing so close together they had to squeeze their way in-between them in some places. The air felt dense and was heavy to breathe and its dampness had clung to their bodies as they made their way through the thick jungle. There had been no sign of life besides the occasional lizards and the occasional odd-looking creatures skittering across their path, but no humans or any sign of civilization. This part of the planet was as abandoned as a planet could be.

Digging through the lockers Haze grinned in satisfaction as her hand caught hold of something soft. One could always count on the Alliance to keep supplies of clothes stocked up. Cargos, tank tops and sweaters. That would have to do. She grabbed two sets and walked over to the lieutenant handing her the clothes.

Unbuckling the rest of her armour, pulling it off, she caught Ashley staring at her awkwardly.

"What?" She let her soaked top drop to the floor. "It's nothing you haven't seen before." Ashley's eyes widened at the remark. Haze grinned inwardly before giving a careless shrug. "We're both soldiers here."

"I know, but..." Ashley paused. "you undressed me last night."

"Well, someone had to get your drunk ass to bed." Haze chuckled as she thought of the night before.

""You haven't mentioned the dog tags."

She shrugged. It wasn't uncommon for partners who served in the Alliance to wear their significant other's dog tags. Granted she hadn't studied them up close. They had been too close to other more _interesting_ parts of Ashley's body.

"If you're embarrassed about walking around with your boyfriend's dog tags you needn't worry about it. Though..." She fired off a wide grin at the lieutenant. "I never figured you to be the cheesy kind of girl to actually do something like that."

The lieutenant's expression flashed from embarrassment to anger in an instant, brown eyes glaring daggers at her.

"You're a jerk," Ashley bit back angrily, turning around to walk into the secluded area of the pilot seats.

Haze grunted. It had been a playful joke. Ashley wasn't usually the one to be easily offended by those. _What crawled up your butt? _Haze thought grudgingly to herself. _Maybe your insensitive jokes._ She grimaced. It wasn't that she was bitter, not really. _I'm not_. But something about Gavin Crossdale just rubbed her the wrong way. _Maybe the fact that he's sleeping with the woman you love. _She clenched her jaw at the thought of the lieutenant general being that close to Ashley. She muffled a displeased grunt, forcing the image out of her head. Two years and Ashley went out and found herself someone new. She snorted quietly. _It wasn't exactly her fault you got yourself blown up_...

As much as she may resent the lieutenant general it was nothing in comparison to how much she loathed herself. Gavin hadn't taken what was hers, he had simply taken what he saw was a woman worth fighting for. She couldn't really blame him for that.

She shook her head regretfully. She couldn't change the past. Regardless of what her feelings for Ashley were it was long past the point of her acting on them. She needed to focus on this war. Earth needed her, hell, the whole galaxy seemed to need her regardless of whether she liked it or not. She exhaled forcefully, rubbing her forehead. They were stuck on this planet for now and until they had found a way to get back to the Normandy she was going to have to keep her resentment to herself.

"Fine," she muttered to herself before walking over to where Ashley had withdrawn to, knocking gently against the cold metal wall.

Ashley turned around giving her weary look. The forest green tank top hugged her every curve tightly and it was tucked in properly at the waist of the cargos that wrapped themselves around her hips. Parts of Haze wanted to walk up to the lieutenant, grab her by the back of her head, push her up against the wall and take the good lieutenant commander up on last night's offer. Other parts wanted to tell Ashley to wear something less appealing. Ignoring both impulses she settled for giving the lieutenant a friendly smile.

"Hey...I didn't mean to upset you about the dog tags. I understand why people do it." _If you were mine I'd probably do the same in times like these_. "When you love someone you want to keep something of theirs close to remind you what you're fighting for."

"It's not what you think..." Ashley started.

"You don't have to explain things, Ash." She smiled disarmingly. "What you have to do though is to help me prepare this lovely meal." She held up the silvery bags with powdered meals, dangling them in the air.

"Powdered food? How fancy." Ashley rolled her eyes a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"What did you expect, freshly prepared sushi? Besides I make a damn fine powdered meal I'll have you know."

"Remember the last time you made me a meal? How'd that work out for you?" Ashley quirked an eyebrow, eyes glinting. Haze pretended not to see the memory of that night flash across the lieutenant's brown eyes. Last time she had cooked for Ashley was moments before she got herself spaced by the Collectors.

"Maybe I burnt it a little."

"A _little_?"

"Details, LT. We only need those in battle, yeah?" She tossed Ashley one of the bags. "Time to get cooking. We can have dinner by the beach." She glanced at the dark clouds gathering by the horizon. "If that storm doesn't catch up with us."

oXoXo

"I can't believe this," Ashley muttered where she sat. "We get shuttle-wrecked on a paradise beach and it's pissing down."

Haze laughed where she sat. "Come on, LT. Don't tell me you never did any field training during a good old monsoon."

"Of course I did field training, but I did mine on Titan. Freezing cold, snow and ice everywhere. I'm not sure what I battled the most, the blizzards or the simulated turians."

"Then this should be a dream scenario."

"I'd take that any day of the week over this miserable, damp coldness." She screwed up her face in dismay.

"Not like we brought our bikinis anyway."

"No, unlike Miranda Lawson I fight in armour not a swimsuit." The words slipped across her lips before she could stop herself and she bit her cheek. Why couldn't she just let go of the past? Haze obviously had. She could see Haze roll her eyes before she picked up the folded blanket next to her.

"Come here." Ashley looked at her apprehensively, her hesitation met by annoyance. "Williams, if you didn't learn this at the academy, at least take it from someone who knows these things."

Another lesson learnt from another mission? At times Ashley wondered how many different missions the commander had under her belt. It seemed whatever situation they'd ended up in Haze seemed to have the experience with something similar.

"I _know _you should stay close together to keep the warmth, I just didn't think it would get this cold. Especially since we could hardly breathe through the heat earlier." She protested as she crawled over to where the commander sat.

"The shuttle's power is off, it only keeps the rain out nothing more," Haze muttered handing her the other half of her blanket. She accepted it gratefully as she sat down next to the commander. Haze shifted, silence settling between them. So much time had passed and yet sitting next to Haze, her body pressed closed to the commander's, it felt like all those years ago. If she closed her eyes she could pretend that nothing had changed. That Haze was still hers –that they were still all that really mattered to the commander. For the slightest of moments she could pretend that she had never lost Haze, that it had all been a horrible nightmare.

The howling wind cast the waves about sending them crashing onto the beach, its crushing descent on the sand reminding Ashley of a bottle of beer being popped opened. She could hear the persistent wind slip through every crack of the shuttle and she latched on to the warmth Haze's body provided.

"Now what?" She mumbled.

"Now we wait. For the storm to pass. Then we find that artefact with the data and the transmitter blocking our signals and we get the hell out of here. Until then, you're stuck with me." She heard the commander reply.

"Where did you learn all those things? Not the things we learn at the academy, but things like the plant." There was nothing else to do and certainly nowhere to run so she figured she might as well press the commander for information. She knew Haze was onto her scheme by the sound of the soft snort escaping the commander.

"From a friend. Along time ago." Was all the commander offered as an explanation.

"Back on Earth?"

"Yeah." There was a sense of heaviness to the commander's answer and Ashley suspected that that particular friend might not be around anymore.

"You worried about your friend?"

She could feel the commander sigh heavily next to her. "Nah, he is probably better off than any of us."

"I'm sorry," she said as she let her hand slip into Haze's. She let her fingers intertwine themselves with Haze's, the silence settling between them once more.

"He was like a teacher for us kids. There wasn't a lot of... great role models around when I was young. He taught us," Haze pause seemingly looking for the right words. "He taught us how to survive."

Survive? What did she mean by that? Had he known Haze was going to join the military? Perhaps it had been one of those pre-military organisations that used to recruit new forces for the Alliance? How old had Haze been when she joined the Alliance? Seventeen? Eighteen? Or was he someone who had worked at the youth centre where Haze had lived at for a while? She remembered the commander mentioning that she had no contact with her family and had stayed there for a while.

"Was he part of the Alliance?"

"No." Haze chuckled. "Not everything that teaches you stuff is part of the Alliance."

"Why are you so secretive about it?" Ashley asked feeling slightly annoyed at the commander's evasiveness.

"You've read my files." Haze said in realization leaning forward staring at her with a triumphant grin.

"I-!" She began to protest before looking away embarrassed. "Yeah, I did."

"Didn't find what you were looking for?" Haze's eyes sparkled with amusement.

"You're a dick." Ashley shook her head trying to hide her grin.

"You could have just asked, you know. I'm open to conversation here."

"Yeah, when you're not _dead_," Ashley retorted.

Haze's eyes narrowed. "Fair enough. I didn't grow up at the youth centre and as you know I don't have family."

"You said your family hadn't contacted you when we first met after Eden Prime, you never said you didn't have one," Ashley said in an accusatory voice.

"Well, it wasn't a lie per se. I never had a family, my mother was affected by one of the many eezo accidents during her pregnancy. This," tiny flames sprung from the commander's fingers as she twisted her hand in the air before continuing, "was the result. A mutated freak-child, an abomination so she left me in the streets. So that's where I grew up. Hagglard was an old man who would teach us kids things in exchange for food. Things like biology and survival techniques."

"You were a ra-, a _street child_?" Ashley asked in disbelief. Haze had grown up in the streets? No wonder there wasn't anything to put in her file.

"It's ok, you can say it, we all call ourselves rats anyway." Haze shrugged as she turned her face back to staring out through the windows of the shuttle. A scar ran across her face. It cut through her eyebrow, wounding its way across the bridge of her nose down to the lower part of her cheek. She had always thought Haze's scars were the result of her brutality in battle. Only now did she realize that the commander must have received some of those scars in her younger years. She lifted her hand brushing aside the long, dark hair that rested on the commander's shoulders exposing the silky neck spotted with freckles. She let her finger tips gently slip across the scar she had found one night before Haze had died. It was faded, but its width was a telltale of how deep the cut must have been.

Haze turned to face her, an unreadable expression on her face, eyes flickering with uncertainty underneath the touch of her fingers on her neck. Ashley felt a tingle in her chest under Haze's intense stare, something burning in the other woman's eyes. Hunger. She felt her breath quicken the sound of it deafening her to the crashing waves in the distance. _Kiss me_. Molten brown eyes locked with the commander's hazel orbs as she lifted her other hand placing it gently on Haze's cheek. If only she could find a way to make Haze see her again, they way she had before she had died. _If only you were mine._

"Don't," the commander whispered closing her eyes.

She opened her mouth to speak when a loud bang sent them flying to their feet, the whole shuttle shaking.

"What the hell?!" She shouted, stumbling backwards. Dark shadows moved outside the shuttle, a loud screeching noise thundered from the outside then the dark shadow became a massive bulk against the side windows as it crashed against the hull of the shuttle again, glass spraying all over them. She grabbed her gun before realizing it didn't work. Whatever was out there out-powered them in size and they had nothing to defend themselves with. The ground shook beneath them as the shadow took off. It moved swiftly not once letting them see it long enough to determine what it was. She could see its bulk pull to a sudden stop as it turned around charging towards them once more.

"Behind me!" Haze roared, the biotic force building in her hands where she stood, a cold, distant and lethal expression on her face. The shadow connected moments later sending the shuttle spinning through the air, Haze's force field the only thing keeping them from breaking their necks as it crashed into the ground.

Ashley sat up rubbing her head when she caught the commander crouching in front of her, one finger placed across her lips the other hand motioning for her to crawl back underneath the seats of the shuttle and lay back down. Nodding she slid back to where she had landed as the commanders silently slid over next to her never once breaking eye contact. She pulled the blanket over them hiding them from their attacker's view. If they were lucky whatever had attacked them had only wanted to destroy the shuttle.

Something moved outside, slowly, almost as if they dragged themselves across the sandy beach. She could hear something click in a strange rhythmic pattern and it sent chills down her spine. Then the screeching began, loud and shrill, curling her blood where she lay. What was that thing? A reaper? They had no guns, no weapons to defend themselves with and the thought of reapers roaming the planet chilled her to the bones. Memories from Eden Prime flashed before her eyes, the high rising spikes with her comrades, the terror in their voices as the spikes hauled them up into the air before piercing their bodies, draining them of all fluids, turning them into monsters. Luke, Jensen, Alina, Bandra...All of them, turned into mindless slaves. She felt panic claw at the back of her mind, the shrill shrieking increasing in power, the odd clicking rolling in and out with the beating of the waves. Grabbing Haze by the collar of the hooded jacket she wore Ashley hid her face at the bend of the commander's neck. She had known something was wrong with this place and for the first time in a long time she didn't feel like gloating about being right. For the first time in a very long time she was terrified.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	4. The Sacrifices That We Make

**Disclaimer:** Mass Effect and its characters , objects, places and lore belong to Bioware. Everything else is my imagination. Feel free to use my ideas, but credit me if you do. :)

**A/N:** I know this took forever, but I got married. I think that's a good excuse, don't you? ;) Anyway to all of you wonderful, _wonderful _reviewers: Thank you SO much. Thank you!

And to everyone who has read, faved and followed: Thank you!

If you want to please let me know how you found this story.

I don't have a beta, please excuse any grammatical error or typos. English is not my first language so I sometimes mess up.

Again thanks so much for reading and enjoy!

~Elmjuniper

* * *

**THE SACRIFICES THAT WE MAKE**

The thing Ashley had missed the most was the sound of their slow breathing whispering through the silence as Haze breathed out and she breathed in. She had missed the commander's voice, the sound of her name murmured in the early morning hours and the scent of Haze's silky, soft skin. She had missed how Haze's raven hair would tickle her face as Haze rolled her onto her back kissing her passionately. Where she lay she listened to the commander's slow breathing, suppressing the desire to press her hips closer, kissing Haze awake. _You're being a damn school girl, Williams. _The marine scolded herself. She opened her eyes where she lay pressed against the cold metal underneath the seats of the shuttle groaning inwardly at the stiffness in her back that had settled over the night.

The night had been one of the longest nights in her life. Being stranded wasn't something she was unused to, it was the being stranded without weapons and any means of communications that was the unnerving part. She was no stranger to hand-to-hand combat, but with this Reaper war and the strange attacker from the night before she had no idea what to expect. How do you take out an enemy that can toss your shuttle aside as if it was no more than a child's toy? Haze had her biotics, but one soldier could only do so much. Not that she doubted the commander's ability to survive, but usually she didn't have to defend unarmed squad members.

The last time she had felt this helpless and frightened was back on Eden Prime. She could still hear the loud pounding of her own heart as she leapt from her hiding place facing an overwhelming army of geth. She could still taste the blood in her mouth as she tried to escape them, running as fast as she could, dodging their bullets. She had lost her whole squad, good men and women and she found herself alone with no one to have her back against this unbelievable enemy; the geth who hadn't been seen ever since they disappeared beyond the Veil. It wasn't that she had been afraid of dying -she had just simply been scared of the unknown situation she had found herself in, a situation she had no idea of how to control.

Ashley snorted inwardly. She had been ducking for cover behind that oddly shaped rock, slowly rising to her feet as she heard the geth approach. She remembered taking a deep breath bracing herself for the attack when a solider had dashed out from beyond the thick trunks of trees behind her. Relief and hope had washed over her all at once. From that moment on she had followed the commander wherever she went. From that moment on she had trusted Haze even when she had questioned her. She and Kaidan would have walked into death for Haze. That's how much they respected her. _Would…_Kaidan _had_. She pushed the memories aside focusing on her present situation.

Ashley shifted where she lay, careful not to wake the sleeping commander. She could feel the commander's chest rise and fall as she breathed slowly, eyes fluttering behind closed eyelids. The blanket still covered them, but she could see the sun break through it in places like tiny crystals strewn across it. Haze's arm curled around her protectively and she remained still, lingering in the moment. Whatever had attacked them last night had decided that either they were done with or that they weren't a threat. She suspected it was the former rather than the latter. The screeching and quick movements outside hadn't lasted for long, but they hadn't moved or spoken a word ever since. She had fallen asleep sometime after the shrill shrieking had stopped. She had tried to keep her eyes open, to stay awake, but had finally succumbed and fallen into a restless sleep waking up every so often certain of that the enemy was back. Each time she had felt Haze's arm tighten around her and she had fallen asleep again.

Feeling the commander stir ext to her she looked up in time to see two eyes still draped with sleep glance down at her.

"Hey," she whispered, painfully aware of the lack of space between them.

"Hey," Haze murmured a faint smile on her lips.

Swallowing thickly she lowered her hands that had been resting gently against the commander's chest as Haze's arm released its hold of her waist.

"I think it's safe to go out."

"It's been safe for hours."

"Oh…" It surprised her Haze hadn't hauled her up hours ago to investigate what had attacked them the night before. The commander did take pleasure in waking her up as early in the mornings as possible after all.

"I just figured we both needed the rest." Haze explained. "It's going to be a long day after all." Haze grunted as she rolled out from their hiding place.

Using her elbows Ashley dragged herself out from underneath the benches, quickly following the commander as she climbed out from the shuttle.

"What the..?" Haze exclaimed as she shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun with one hand.

Long tracks circled around the vehicle, the side of the shuttle shredded from one side to the other.

"What could have done this?" Ashley ran her finger across the deep gashes. They were too uneven to have been sliced by an omni-blade of any kind, but to smooth to have been cut by laser or any Reaper tech she had seen this far.

"I'm not sure, but whatever it is I don't think it wants us here."

"Reapers?"

"Doesn't look like it, but it looks like it went that way." Haze said nodding towards the thick of the jungle.

"Guess we missed something yesterday." Ashley trailed the deep tracks slowly, walking carefully next to it. They were too shallow and uneven to have been made by wheels, looking more like something heavy had been dragged across the sand.

She could hear the pop of a shuttle door opening behind her and she stopped, turning around to see Haze disappear back into the shuttle. She could hear the rustling of locker doors and boxes being opened and shut before Haze emerged once more carrying a black bag on her back. The commander wore a determined look on her face as she walked up towards Ashley where she stood waiting, curious to see what the commander had in mind.

Haze let the heavy bag drop to the ground in front of Ashley's feet, revealing a mixture of knives, grenades and old fashioned guns.

"Are those from before the First Contact war?" Ashley stared at the relics by her feet. "Are those even going to do any damage?"

"Guess we'll figure that out later," Haze muttered as she turned back towards the shuttle.

"Being around you, we probably will." She said quietly, shaking her head at the out dated weapons on the ground.

"I heard that!"

~o~

"You really know how to spoil a girl," Ashley said in mock awe as Haze handed her the bowl of oatmeal she had prepared.

"Let it be known I take care of my women." Haze winked, taking her seat next to the lieutenant on the fallen trunk next to the shuttle. Whatever had attacked them last night must have knocked it over when it had hurled the shuttle across the beach.

"If I make it off this planet, I'll be sure to put it on the Extra Net." The marine retorted sarcastically.

"Well, at least you can't complain about the view." She motioned with her spoon towards the glittering ocean.

"Or the company."

Haze bit back a smile dropping her gaze towards her bowl. "Well…" She looked back up searching for an appropriate response. "It could always be worse I suppose." She could hear Ashley laugh next to her.

"You know, Skipper, one of these days you're going to miss having me around."

_From the moment Cerberus brought me back to life. _"Do you know what I miss?" She asked changing the subject.

"What?"

"Mess Sergeant Gaider's cooking."

The marine laughed. "No you don't!"

"No, I don't." Haze smiled. "But I do miss my old bed."

"So do I."

Haze chuckled as she turned her head towards Ashley, her eyebrow lifting upwards in amusement. "Oh do you know?"

"What? No! I didn't mean-! I meant _my _bed. I miss my bed too…" The marine blushed.

"She was a good ship SR1."

"She was. I miss those days. Before all of this."

"Yeah…me too." She had meant to say something funny, laugh it off with a joke, but she _did _miss those days. She was proud to serve the human race, to represent them in this new exciting world of intergalactic relations and she was proud to protect them. This was her life's work after all. This was what she had fought so hard for; her rightful place in the galaxy. But even so, she could never have dreamt of the price she'd have to pay or the sacrifices she would have to make. There was a certain power to being Commander Shepard. Even when she had been stripped of her crew and ship she knew that being Commander Shepard had saved her from being court-martialed and hanged on the spot. That and Anderson's good word, but because of that she also carried the weight of the galaxy on her shoulders. Everyone looked at her in desperation, their eyes begging her to stop the Reapers.

Did anyone realize what it felt like to look into those eyes knowing full well that no matter how much one wanted to promise them everything would be fine, it wouldn't be? The guilt she felt when she promised to stop the Reapers only to hear the planets had been decimated afterwards could eat her alive. The thought of the people back on Earth dying so that _she _would have more time made her stomach churn. She was no politician, she was a soldier, she was supposed to be out there fighting the Reapers not sailing around the galaxy fighting political disputes. Every life spilled while she was busy doing that increased her debt and the only way to redeem it would be stopping the Reapers. But there were no guarantees. And so whenever she met those desperate, hopeful eyes with her own she felt like a monster. Those same eyes would curse her name when the Reapers arrived and she wasn't there to save the day.

She rubbed her face as she slid off the trunk.

"We should get going. The sooner we get off this planet, the better."

~o~

The ruins lay deep inside the forest, well-hidden by the thickness of the trees' thick-growing crowns. Ashley spun around slowly taking it in. The trees rose towards the sky, the crowns creating a ceiling of leaves high above their heads, sunlight punching small holes in the solid canopy above them every here and there. Thick vines wounded across the ground, wrapping themselves around trunks and abandoned buildings.

Walking up to one of the buildings she unsheathed the long dagger strapped to her waist. She grabbed hold of one of the vines and swung her dagger at it. It cut right through it, slicing it open, the thick vine falling to the side. She narrowed her eyes. A red, large, washed out letter could be seen behind the confinement of the wild-growing vegetation.

"Hey, look at this!" She called across her shoulder.

"An old research centre?" A wrinkled formed between the commander's eyes. "What is it doing in the middle of nowhere?"

"Better yet, where are all the researchers?" Something was definitely not right about this place.

Haze sliced through another vine revealing deep dents and slashes similar to the ones on their shuttle.

"Looks like they had a visitor," she said where she stood next to the commander eyeing the abandoned bunker.

"Mmm." The taller woman agreed thoughtfully. "But if this was a research centre, it means they must have reported their findings somehow."

"And if they could," she smiled conspiratorially.

"We should be able to as well." Haze nodded with a grin before jogging back to the other side of the ruins. "Look for cables, wires, _anything _that could work!"

"Yes, ma'am." She confirmed the commander's order with a nod, walking around the corner of the small building, eyes scouring the ground and trees nearby for anything that resembled wires as she kicked at the ground with her boot making sure nothing lay hidden underneath the tangles of leaves, moss and vines. _There has to be something! _Following the outer rim of the ruins something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It looked like a thick, gnarled root growing out from one of the large trunks. She stopped and turned towards it, eyes narrowed. That was no root! She picked up her speed, hurrying towards it.

"Well, hello there," she murmured softly, kneeling by the thick wire. "Boy have we been looking for y-"

Something rustled behind her back and she snapped her head to the side, all senses suddenly alert and on guard.

"Haze?" She asked as she slowly stood up, hands subconsciously falling to the hilt of the long dagger strapped to her side. A loud crack echoed through the glen sending her into a crouch, daggers drawn. The commander's order was not to use her pistol until they knew what it was that had attacked them the night before.

The ground trembled underneath her feet, something large moving into the ruins. She could hear it thrash around the abandoned research facility, grunting and hissing as it sent roots and dirt flying. Moving quietly she darted from where she had been crouching to a small rock formation. Barely daring to breathe she lay pressed against the rock making sure whatever was in the camp hadn't heard her move. Straining her ears she could hear muffled voices. Had the researchers come back? _Shit, Ash! Look at this place! Does it look like they'll be coming back anytime soon? _She shook her head, leaning on to her knuckles before pushing off the ground sprinting to her next hiding place. The voices and thrashing stopped and she knew she'd been heard. _Shit!_

Staring wildly about her she realized she'd cornered herself between two bunkers. If they were to come around the corner she would have nowhere to run. Her only chance to remain unseen was to sneak back around the small building that was behind her. Taking a step backwards a high pitched shriek tore through the air and she felt her blood freeze. It took all her willpower not to panic and break into a sprint, her chest rising and falling quickly with each desperate breath taken to remain calm. When an arm suddenly came around her waist jerking her backwards, a strong hand muffling her surprised scream she lifted her arms jabbing backwards with the daggers. There was a low grunt before the commander's voice hissed angrily into her ear.

"It's me, it's _me_. Now be silent!" Haze growled as she pulled her in behind the deep-green ivy that cascaded off the roof of the building like a waterfall.

Ashley nodded carefully, lowering her arms when the thing came into view. She could feel her stomach turn cold as she stared at their enemy, for at the sight of it she no longer doubted it was an enemy. The creature walked slowly, each step reverberating through the mossy ground. The sheer bulk of its back was larger than three men together and its height greater than that of an YMIR mech. Its skin was grey like mud, the back twisted and gnarled, long claws sprouting from its giant hands. Sharp looking spikes punctured its face and large, yellow eyes glowed like burning orbs. She swallowed thickly. Her daggers would be nothing more than toothpicks to that beast!

The creature swung its large head and long tail about sniffing the air loudly baring three rows of needle sharp uneven teeth. Yellow lizard-like eyes swept past her once, twice then stopped, staring right at her. She froze where she stood as the creature remained still, staring at them with its burning gaze. Then it opened its mouth to release its deafening screech. She could feel Haze tense behind her, readying herself for the attack when something large shot through the air towards the creature that spun on its feet in surprise. The large thing collided with the creature knocking it off its feet. It roared angrily, a thunderous roar rippling through the forest, before it rolled to the side pushing itself off the ground in to a defensive stance, facing its assailant. It grunted and breathed heavily, growling at the attacker, a deep guttural growl.

The assailant circled it menacingly and when it came in to view she heard the fear in the commander's voice for the first time since they had met.

"Oh my God. This is _bad_."

The attacker still had some similarities to its intended prey, but the blue nodes and tubes running in and out of its flesh betrayed it. The skin had cracked in places exposing bones and dried up muscles and sinews. _Reapers!_ That would explain what had happened here and as the reaper opened its mouth Ashley knew she had been mistaken. This was the _real_ enemy.

"Go!" The creature yelled to them in a rich, rumbling voice.

When they remained still it turned its head towards them. "GO! NOW! Find the lake, find the hatch! Now g-!" It barely had time to defend itself before the Reaper was on it, tearing at it with its blackened, sharp claws.

Ashley felt herself jerked backwards, her mind snapping back into place and she turned breaking into a mad run behind the commander.

~o~

"What do you _mean _'they're gone'?" Joker asked in annoyance.

"They are no longer on our radar. They are gone," EDI replied.

"But how can they just vanish? They can't just go M.I.A like that. The commander is _always _there. Right there," he exclaimed in frustration pointing at the screen in front of him. "And now for some reason she's not, which means we have a problem. A _huge _problem."

"I know, Jeff. The commander is missing."

He snorted. "Hell no, we _lost _the commander. It's our asses on the line EDI." He sighed heavily. He might act all casual about it, but the truth was, losing commander Shepard was nothing to be casual about. She was the beacon of light in this war, without her he wasn't sure they would stand a chance. He didn't really worry about his own ass, if Shepard didn't come back it wouldn't matter if he got relieved of duty or not because the Reapers would annihilate them all. There would be no ships to fly, no Alliance to work for, no Earth, nothing.

Scratching his forehead head he went through the procedures in his head. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? How long were they supposed to wait before admitting to having lost the commander?

"EDI, I don't know what to do," he confessed quietly looking over at the AI who he spent every waking moment of the day around. He hated to admit it, but he liked her, he even trusted her, confided in her and he felt good around her.

She looked back at him, smiling softly. "I could calculate the possible outcome for this scenario."

He sighed. As much as he loved how technical and great her knowledge of things were he sometimes missed the understanding of human emotions.

"But..." She said slowly. "I think it would be better for me to just say it will be ok."

Joker looked back up at her grinning. "Are you trying to be human, EDI?"

She ignored his attempt at humour. "You are clever Jeff and I'm even more so. Together we will figure something out."

And there she was again. The blunt AI. "Yeah."

"If you need any help with that I might be able to lend you a hand." Said the familiar voice behind them.

"This is good." EDI said cheerfully. "We have the Shadowbroker on our side."

"EDI, you're supposed to keep that on the quiet," Liara sighed before continuing. "Either way I have found something. The coordinates the council sent you Joker is to a location mid-space. From there on they would have had further instructions we weren't told of."

"But being the Shadowbroker you read the Commander's mail!" Joker chuckled. "Haze is going to be pissed about that."

Liara shot him a dirty glare. "Not if it saves her life. And I didn't _read _her mail."

Joker raised his eyebrow folding his arms across his chest.

"Glyph did."

"So it is correct to say that if I make Jeff do something for me I cannot be held responsible?"

"Look what you did." Joker rolled his eyes at Liara.

"No...EDI that's not what I meant. Anyway, Glyph found another set of coordinates which leads us to this." The asari held up her datapad for them to see.

"Lacerta Mihi?" EDI sounded puzzled.

"Well, ok, so she's there. Then we send out a team to look for them."

EDI turned to look at him. "Lacerta Mihi means Land of Lizards."

"Oh hell no..." He felt his new found hope drain from him along with the colour from his face.

"The research facility there was destroyed years ago and no one knows why. Every single ship sent there has disappeared never to be heard from again."

"And the council just sent her out there?!" Joker could feel his temper rising. Haze might be patient enough to handle the council, but his patience had been wearing thin from the moment he'd laid eyes on them. "Is there _anything _they aren't going to try and screw up? I would bang my fist on the arm rest, but frankly, I might break my wrist."

"What Glyph and I found is that there is a force field surrounding the whole of the planet making it impossible for ships to enter _or _leave the atmosphere without, well, breaking."

"Doc, did you say you had good news or what?"

"No, I didn't. I said I could help."

"Fine. What else have you got?"

"This," the asari said holding up what looked like a small tube.

"Uhm..." He said slowly, throwing a quick glance at EDI who shrugged.

"It seems anything powered by eezo breaks upon entering the atmosphere, but this is an old fashioned pod running on regular power crystals."

"Power crystals?" Joker frowned.

"An old asari technique to power things up. One small crystal could power a whole ship in the old days or an entire village. Nowadays no one really use them. With the mass effect we have no need for these anymore."

"Until now. That's is brilliant, Blue!" He could see Liara roll her eyes at the nickname, but she accepted it nonetheless.

"We will send this to the same coordinates and set it to locate Haze's genetic build."

"You took some of her DNA? You creepy little alien!" Joker said in mock horror.

"I did not!"

"Mm-hmm...someday I'll wake up with a probe somewhere I don't even want to think about."

"Are you going get the Normandy to that location or not?"

"Ha!" He spun on his chair facing the screens again. "You do your probing, leave the flying to me."

~o~

Twigs and leaves whipped at their faces, their backpacks slapping hard against their backs as they fled through the unknown forest. _Find the lake? _Haze went through the event in her head. Had that creature just told them to find a god damn lake in a god damn forest they had never been to before?! Fat lot of good that did them!

They moved quickly, zigzagging through the forest, her eyes darting in a desperate search for this lake the creature had mentioned. She supposed she shouldn't just trust the creature, but for all she knew it had just saved their lives. She could hear Ashley close behind her and she grimaced, sticking her hand inside the jacket. The pain seared through her side as her fingers brushed against the open cut, the skin raw and sticky with blood. Ashley hadn't meant to hurt her and she had been foolish to sneak up on a fellow marine wielding daggers. Clenching her jaws she turned her attention back to their surroundings. This lake. They had to...they had to... She shook her head trying to clear her vision. _Come on, Commander. Stay with me. _She ordered herself.

Looking at the sky above them she could see the sun starting to set. _We need to find somewhere safe to camp_. Something dark loomed behind the trees in front of them, a mountain or a hill or maybe just more trees. She couldn't tell.

A loud thump behind her and the lieutenant's cry broke her sprint and she turned, wheeling herself around. A reaper hovered above the marine. _Shit!_ She could see Ashley slash the daggers at the Reaper's leg. The already broken skin parted underneath the sharp edge of the marine's daggers and the Reaper stopped momentarily giving Ashley the time she needed to roll on to her stomach before pushing herself back up. Haze pulled at her powers, feeling the warmth of it growing in her stomach like a wildfire begging to be let out.

The electric-blue bolt shot from her hands slamming into the Reaper. It stumbled backwards, shrieking in frustration. Drawing her arms backwards she used it for leverage as she pushed forward with her arms the biotics ripping through the air. Once it surrounded her target she lifted her arms high above her head. She could feel her side rip open and she almost lost her balance. Instead she slammed the creature into the ground with such force the wind from it nearly knocked them over. The crushing sound of bones and Reaper tech breaking made her want to roar ferociously like she had back on Torfan, but the rush of victory was cut short when three more of the Reapers broke into their view. She moved to help the lieutenant when some sort of rope whipped through the air and wrapped itself around Ashley's foot. It jerked once felling the marine, pulling her backwards.

"NO!" She yelled breaking into a mad dash trying to catch up with the lieutenant who was dragged further away from her with every passing second towards the awaiting Reapers. Another rope whipped into the air and she barely dodged it, ducking and stumbling before continuing her chase. Looking in the direction the rope had come from she saw it snap back in to one of the Reapers' mouth. She felt her spine crawl, the hairs on her neck standing. That was no rope...

She only had a few seconds before it would try to capture her again. She let her biotics punish the Reaper that was wheeling her comrade towards it. It was too fast, she wasn't going to make it. Firing her biotics again she tried to divert its attention towards herself.

"Come on you ugly son of a!" It raised its claws high into the air before plunging them towards the lieutenant.

Ashley's pained scream tore across her lips as the claw pierced her thigh. She sat up sharply grabbing her leg with one hand the other one firing one of the old pistols they had found in the shuttle. The bullets bounced off it like pebbles doing little to no harm at all. Haze gritted her teeth sending a shockwave of biotics towards the Reaper. It rippled through it stunning it for mere seconds. It was all the well-trained marine needed. The next two bullets buried themselves deep into the Reapers eyes blinding it.

"Guess you found its weak spot, now let's go, LT," Haze praised her where she ran dodging the other Reapers' attacks.

"No can do, Skipper!"

"What are you-?" The thick tongue whipped at her once again knocking her off her feet. _God damn it! _She unsheathed her dagger slashing at it. Sending one of her powerful bolts flying towards the attacking Reaper, buying herself more time.

"Get out of here!" Ashley shouted behind her back.

"Don't be _stupid_, Ash! I'm not leaving you here!" She scrambled to her feet, mud and moss clinging to her skin. More Reapers appeared behind the one still snaring Ashley. The shriek. It wasn't frustration. It wasn't even anger. It was an alarm! They were sounding the alarm of intruders. _There's too many of them._

"Forget the data, forget me! Just get the hell out of here, Skipper! Left! Look to your left!"

_Look to my left?_ Looking to her left she saw a small stream of water wounding its way through the earthen ground. Its water flowed in the same way they had been running.

"Just. Get. Out!"

The blinded Reaper jerked its tongue hard, angered and intent on adding another husk to this world. Ashley spun on the ground, eyes widened in horror, then before Haze knew it the lieutenant had disappeared somewhere behind the thicket. She could follow. She looked over to her left. Or she could make sure she made it off this planet alive and end these abominations once and for all. It was Ashley or the galaxy.

Lowering her gaze she stopped momentarily then she turned dashing towards the stream, dodging the Reapers, dying with every step taking her further away from the place Ashley had been taken from.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


End file.
